Drake breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the truck where Zula and Captain Morgan were had finally left.
Now, he can focus on the matter at hand, protecting his men and leaving the rest to the mercy of the Almighty.
He then ordered the Beta, Charlie, and Delta companies for the execution of plan E, where each company will send two platoons to ground zero for reinforcements.
After a while,
Drake received a call from the infiltration unit.
"Status"
"Bombs are in position, sir, ready to extract," Seagull reported.
"Come back safe and alive; that's an order!"
"sir, yes, sir."
***
Seagull ordered his men to retreat and said that they should all meet at the rendezvous point.
While making his way out, a husky and drunken voice called him from behind.
"Ey yow, go get mah weapon in ma' room; I'ma crush those soldiers' asses myself."
Seagull turned around to see who was talking and to confirm if he's the one addressed, and he was surprised to see that it was none other than Saiku.
Seagull didn't know what to do. He just nodded slightly and kept on walking forward.
"Whatta fack? U deaf? A boy?" Saiku seems annoyed.
"Seagull, do you copy? We are all at the extraction point; where are you?"
Seagull heard his comrades waiting for him through their microchip communication piece attached on his ears. At some point, he was relieved to know that they were out of danger as they were already outside.
"Ya, boss, I need to piss." Seagull tried talking his way out and immediately ran towards the exit.
Saiku was smirking, laughing at how the man's bladder might explode any minute by how fast he ran away.
Not until he realized how unusual and suspicious that man was.
"Damn it! You useless punks. We are infiltrated!" Saiku shouted immediately making him sober.
Everyone was alarmed.
***
Saiku immediately followed Seagull; fortunately, Seagul reached the open ground, continued to run as far as he could, and then immediately pressed the detonator, creating a domino of explosion, raging the entire forest.
Seagull was unfortunately affected by the blast since he didn't get too far. He's curling on the ground out of pain. His face is covered with blood, and a loud piercing noise seems to be drilling from his ears to his brain.
Saiku, who barely made it out alive, was unconscious, lying on the ground. His body was filled with cuts and bruises, and blood was dripping on his forehead. He is lucky enough to survive the blast, while almost all of his men are dead.
Since the explosion was too great, it caused an earthquake-like incident on the battlefield. The sound of an explosion also echoed throughout the forest, which caught the enemies off guard.
While the enemies were confused about what might have caused the explosion, Drake and his army took that opportunity to turn the situation in their favor.
They began attacking at full force until the enemies lost their ground.
***
After a few moments, Seagull managed to contact his lieutenant colonel.
"Mission Accomplished" were the only words he managed to say before he collapsed.
Drake ordered a squad to rescue the infiltration unit and to bring them immediately to the base camp for treatment.
He also ordered a platoon to monitor and evaluate the damage from the explosion and to confirm the body of Saiku.
Although the enemy camp has been destroyed by the explosion, it's still too early to say that all of them have been annihilated.
Moreover, until Saiku is not caught or confirmed dead, danger will always be prominent.
With the possibility that some terrorists might have survived the blast and may be planning to escape, Drake ordered the companies situated in the south, west, and east to stand their ground and to stay vigilant.
***
After assessing that the situation was now in their favor, Drake passed his command to Shane, ordering them to attack in full force and finish the war once and for all.
A few moments later, Drake received a report.
"Sir, Saiku's body can't be found, and it is expected that some terrorists have fled and survived the blast."
"Roger, look for possible break-throughs and follow any leads that could point out the location of Saiku," Drake ordered.
***
Meanwhile, Saiku and 10 of his men were running through the forest, hoping that they could escape. However, their luck led them to one of the military camps.
"Sir, it looks like they are headed to the west camp."
Reported the squad leader of the pursuit unit to Drake.
Drake then immediately contacted Captain Smith, who was situated in the west.
"Captain Smith, reporting."
"Saiku, along with a squad of terrorists, are headed your way; perhaps they are already there. Be alert; don't ever let them get past through you," Drake ordered.
"Sir, yes sir."
After giving the order, Drake went to Shane.
"Captain Shane, can you handle the situation?" he asked.
"Sir, yes, sir," Shane replied.
"If anything happens, report it immediately," he said, going inside a truck and driving away.
***
While driving, he contacted the base.
"How's Captain Morgan?"
"Lt. Colonel, Captain Morgan is stable. However, he still needs to undergo proper treatment in a hospital. All soldiers who came here, including the infiltration unit, are given immediate aid. Fortunately, they didn't suffer something fatal, so I tended to some bruises and cuts, as well as fractures. For the infiltration unit, I'm afraid they have to consult auditory doctors. The impact of the blast affected their hearing, which may take some time to recover. Seagull's eardrums burst, and he can't hear at the moment, but don't worry, it's only temporary."
Earlier that day, upon arriving at the base, Zula immediately fixed a semi-ICU for Captain Morgan. She checked everything and made sure that his vitals were stable.
Just a few moments later, two trucks filled with injured soldiers arrived. Together with Ryan and the other soldiers at the base, they set up a tent for the soldiers to rest in. Zula tended to all of them. Some of them have gunshots, scrapes from bullets, fractures, and cuts.
Again, at least two hours or more later, after the loud blast that caused a slight quake, another truck arrived. The soldiers in that truck are known to be the squad that bravely infiltrated the enemy camp. Zula again looked after them. Their hearings are their primary concern due to the explosion. Although auditory is not Zula's expertise, she still managed to give them auditory first aid. She also cleaned the wounds and helped them with other concerns such as bleeding, cuts, fractures, and bruises.
****
Hearing the good news along with Zula's voice, Drake felt at ease. He never knew why, but something about Zula soothed his masculinity, his toughness, and his boldness.
"Thank you,
I'm now headed to the west, where the target is. I'll contact you later. "
As soon as Drake ended that call, he contacted the village,
"Proceed with the evacuation," he ordered.
"Zula, did the colonel tell you how the situation was?" Ryan casually asked.
"No, but he said he's headed to the west; I think the target is headed there," Zula explained.
"By the way, if we are at the center and the village is on our west," Zula thought
"The village is actually closest to the west, just 2 kilometers away," Ryan said as if he read about what Zula was thinking.
***
"I'm going there," soon after realizing that the village is at risk,
Zula began packing more emergency supplies. She can't seem to be at ease, realizing that the village is just a step away from danger.
"Zula, we can't let you; it's too dangerous. And besides, what about your patients? Is it alright to just leave them?" Ryan asked, concerned.
"It's fine, they're fine; besides, you guys have trained in basic medicine; just contact me in case of emergencies or complications," Zula said while putting a walkie-talkie in the pocket of her bulletproof vest.
What she did next surprised the soldiers present, even the infiltration unit. Zula took grenades from the camp's armory and stuffed them in her vest. She then removed the magazine from the Colt 45 that Drake gave her earlier when they went to rescue Captain Morgan to check the ammunition left. After that, she just put it back and then stacked the gun in another pocket of her vest.
Then she took an AK-47 from the base camp's armory.
"Z-zula, what are you doing?" Ryan asked, dumbfounded.
Zula ignored Ryan and took her motorcycle, which was parked at the side of her house just beside her black van. She put the first-aid kit in the back compartment. She sat on the motorcycle as she put the handle of the AK-47 around her body. Zula stepped on the engine, and before anyone could react, all they could hear was the riving of the engine going further away.
Ryan immediately called Drake.
"Lt. Colonel, Private Ryan speaking,
Zula just took off and went to the village."
"Stay there; I'm going to the village myself. Stay there and protect the casualties," Drake said as he stepped on the accelerator at full speed.
Zula breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the villagers were all evacuated. The soldiers are in their defensive positions, concealed from their surroundings.
Zula then went inside a building, hid herself, and set up the AK 47 she took earlier.